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New Mercedes-Benz pickup to be called GLT?

The Mercedes-Benz pickup will allegedly be called the GLT, and it won't be "a fat cowboy truck." That's according to the head of MB's truck project, former AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg, quoted by Car. We already knew that Mercedes would be teaming up with Renault-Nissan for its double-cab pickup, but until Car sat down with Mornhinweg, we were unsure of how the vehicle would be targeted. Aside from being neither fat nor cowboy like, the exec shed some light on the German brand's mindset behind the new truck. "We are not going to develop a fat cowboy truck for North America. After all, the big three – Ford, GM/GMC and Ram – already own about 90 percent of that market which typically absorbs in excess of two million units per year," Mornhinweg told Car. "In this cutthroat environment, newcomers like us would invariably fight an arduous uphill battle. That's why our focus is on a smaller and lighter pick-up truck which is already perceived as premium product in South America, Africa and the Middle East." While Mornhinweg wasn't the one to let slip on the new Mercedes truck's name, Car reports that it will wear the GLT badge. There's no mention of where the publication came up with that title, though, aside from "rumors." We've reached out to Mercedes-Benz for comment on the truck's name, and should they get back to us, we'll be sure to update this post. Related Video: News Source: CarImage Credit: Mercedes-Benz Vans Mercedes-Benz Truck

Mercedes forced to lower MPG ratings on two C300 models *UPDATE

*UPDATE: Donna Boland, manager of corporate communications at Mercedes Benz USA, told AutoblogGreen that the sticker change only applied to around 500 C-Class vehicles on dealer lots, since a new C-Class came out in late August. "About 500 are left in the United States, and we've relabeled them," she said. First Hyundai, then Ford and now Mercedes-Benz. The list of companies that have had to change their vehicles' official EPA fuel economy ratings has just grown by one with the announcement that the 2013 and 2014 C300 4-Matic FFV and PZEV versions need to have their EPA labels adjusted. The changes aren't massive, at most one mile per gallon. The changes aren't massive, at most one mile per gallon, but they are lower than before. The FFV version goes from 20 to 19 mpg in the city while the PZEV drops one mpg across the board from 23/20/29 combined/city/highway) to 22/19/28. The FFV's combined (22) and highway (27) ratings stay the same. Other Mercedes vehicles that were spot checked turned out to have accurate labels. The problem, which is reminiscent of the issues that Ford had with the Total Road Load Horsepower, was that "Mercedes underestimated the impact of aerodynamic drag and tire rolling resistance known as 'road-load,'" the EPA said in a statement you can read below. We have asked Mercedes for more information on the issue but have not yet heard back. We're not sure how many vehicles the EPA is retesting (or asking to be retested), but the agency says that the C300 models were evaluated again by Mercedes "with EPA oversight" and the EPA did its own tests at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, MI. Christopher Grundler, the director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said that the EPA knows that the changes are minimal, but that, "it is important that our oversight system is producing the correct results because even one MPG matters to consumers." In case you need a primer in the recent history of companies adjusting their EPA numbers, check out this and this. Based on today's news, we won't be surprised to hear more changes are coming. EPA Requires Mercedes-Benz to Correct Fuel Economy Labels for Two C300 4-Matic Vehicles WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising estimates for two 2013/2014 Mercedes C300 4-matic vehicles, the FFV and PZEV, to ensure consumers are given accurate fuel economy values.

Daimler: 2017 the right time to launch our hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle

Zero-emissions vehicle development has never focused purely on off-the-line acceleration. So when a research executive with Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler says it's Okay that companies like Toyota and Hyundai will have a head start selling hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, it's somewhat believable. But is Daimler really fine with being two years behind? It appears so. Daimler plans on debuting its first fuel-cell vehicle in 2017, Automotive News says, citing an interview Automobilwoche had with Daimler's corporate research chief Herbert Kohler. The German automaker estimated about a decade ago that it would be able to get fuel-cell production costs down to an "acceptable" level in 2012, but it turns out that estimate was about five years too aggressive. Daimler originally started leasing out a limited number of its F-Cell hydrogen vehicles in the US for $849 a month, though later brought that down to $599 a month. Daimler says it received a boost in its effort to accelerate fuel-cell powertrain development when it reached an agreement early last year with Nissan and Ford to work together on speeding up relevant powertrain technology. While Toyota's first fuel-cell vehicle in Japan is priced at almost $70,000 (before big government incentives kick in), Kohler says Daimler's first fuel-cell vehicle will be priced similar to a hybrid vehicle. Of course, that's a Mercedes-Benz hybrid we're talking about here, but still. Related Gallery Mercedes-Benz F-Cell View 9 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Mercedes-Benz Hydrogen Cars h2